Dear Burning Questions,
Martin Clark's Many Aspects of Mobile Home Living is one of my favorite books. I recall him saying he'd have a new book out soon. Any news on this? Also, is he still employed as a judge, or is he writing full-time? I very much enjoy BookPage, especially the author interviews and the thoughtfulness of the reviews.

J. S. Bard
Richmond, Virginia

Despite the success of his hilarious debut novel, Martin Clark is keeping his day job as a Virginia circuit court judge. But he's continuing his writing career as well—Knopf will publish Plain Heathen Mischief, his second novel, in May. Following the adventures of Joel King, a defrocked Baptist minister, Plain Heathen Mischief goes from Virginia to Vegas as Joel flees authorities, lawsuits and his own wife and finds redemption in an unexpected source.

MANNERS MATTER

Dear Burning Questions,
Last year you answered my question about my favorite author Jodi Picoult. Not only did you make my day but I also received a lot of nice attention from my local public librarians. Could you do it again for me please? When is Jodi Picoult's next book coming out and what is it about?

Fred Moore
Lansing, Michigan

Well, Fred, since you said "please," here's a little information on Jodi Picoult's next book, My Sister's Keeper, which Atria will publish next month. A couple is faced with an impossible choice when their youngest daughter decides that she'll no longer serve as a donor for her older sister, who has a rare form of cancer.

BERNIE'S BACK

Dear Burning Questions,
Does Lawrence Block have another book in his Burglar series in the works? It's been years since we got a dose of Block's offbeat hero, Bernie Rhodenbarr.

Ingrid Hunter
Anaheim Hills, California

We're not sure where he's been, but BQ is happy to announce that Bernie Rhodenbarr, Lawrence Block's antiquarian bookseller/burglar, is back for a 10th outing. Morrow will publish A Burglar on the Prowl on March 16. This time, the gentleman thief gets into trouble when a friend asks him to commit a bit of petty larceny. It's a proposal Bernie can't refuse, but a few days before the crime is set to take place, he finds danger while prowling the neighborhood. Soon, four people are dead and Bernie's own home is burglarized. Can he connect the dots and catch the killer?

The busy Block has also been working on a nonfiction book for Oxford University Press, which will be published later this spring. Titled Gangsters, Swindlers, Killers, and Thieves, the anthology profiles hundreds of outlaws, bootleggers, mobsters and other denizens of the dark side of American history.

TOO MUCH FUN

Dear Burning Questions,
Any chance of a new book by an old favorite, Willard Scott?

Mary Ann Codewald
Cleveland, Ohio

Today show personality Willard Scott, whose humorous memoir on aging topped bestseller lists in May 2003, will return in April as the editor of an inspirational compilation on the many joys of being a grandparent, If I Knew It Was This Much Fun, I Would Have Become a Grandparent First (Hyperion). Contributors include George H.W. Bush, Phyllis Diller, Paul Simon and Art Linkletter.

PAPERBACK POTTER

Readers intimidated by the weighty hardcover edition of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix can look forward to its August 10 paperback publication by Scholastic. The new edition is priced at $9.99, and is an impressive 896 pages long.

UPDATE

Since our January issue went to press, we learned a little more about Carl Hiaasen's anticipated new novel. Skinny Dip, the story of a corrupt marine biologist, will be published in July by Knopf. Many thanks to readers who wrote in with more information.

CASE CLOSED?

Attention all readers! This is your last chance to answer the January Book Detectives challenge posed by Earline Hefferlin of Michigan. She's looking for a novel in which all the characters are named some variation of Margaret. Can you help? E-mail or mail your answers to the address below.

TRAIN OF THOUGHT

Dear Burning Questions,
I have read all the Claire Malloy and Maggody books by Joan Hess. Does she have any new books in either series planned or coming out soon? I hope you will say yes!

Ginny Kroening
Somonauk, Illinois

Joan Hess isn't planning to give up on either of her popular series. Muletrain to Maggody (Simon & Schuster), her latest Arly Hanks mystery, was just released. Trouble hits the small town of Maggody when a band of Civil War re-enactors stirs up a long forgotten legend of hidden Confederate gold. When one of the participants dies unexpectedly, Arly is on the case.

As for sleuth Claire Malloy, Hess tells BQ, "I'm currently working on the next addition to the Claire Malloy series, tentatively titled The Goodbye Body. (Hint: for research, I rented the video cassettes of the first four seasons of The Sopranos.) No publication date as of now, mostly because I haven't finished it. After that, I'll fling myself into the next in the Maggody series."

The author of 30 mystery novels, Hess is a fifth-generation Arkansas resident and the mother of two.